Arc-welding system and method of operating the same



H. D. MORTON. ARC WELDING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2. 1918- I Patented Oct. 4, 1921.

. m x y x m M n w 1 W o m 4 3 1 I A if J r 2 0 r. a w o x. 9 o y in abutting relation, thereby forming the UNITEDI' L STATES PATENT OFFICE HARRY I). ivronrorrj'orinnrnorr, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR 'ro AUTOMATIC ARC WELD- me GQMPANY, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION or MICHIGAN.

ARC-WELDING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME.

1 Application filed December 2, 1918. Serial No. 264,930H

To all whom it may concern Be i known that I,.HARRY D. MORTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful-1m rovements in Arc-Welding Systems andethods of Operating the Same, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electric arc weld ing, and more particularly to automatic and v semi-automatic apparatus for this purpose and to the method of operating the same. In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagram matic viewshowingone form of my inven t1on,in whlch the ballistlc reslstancewhlch is used in the welding circuit may have either a substantially zero .temperature co-efiicient in which no compensatory adjustmentis re-- quired, or in which {the ballistic resistance has a substantial, temperature co-eificient, in which casemanually operated compensatory meansare used; Fig. Qisa diagrammatic 12, wire 13, welding strip 14, work 15,-andreturn wire 16. Itavill be understood that in the welding operation an arc isformed at a. between the endof thewelding'strip and the groove 17 in thework 15. For the purpose of welding two plates or parts together, the ends to be joined are tapered and placed groove 17 and the. intenseheat of the are at a rapidly melts the metallic strip 14=and this molten metal is deposited in the groove 17 thereby uniting the pieces of metalat the joint 18.,' On account of the fact that the intense heat at the are a melts'the strip 14 rapidly, it is necessary to feed this strip from a reel to the arc uninterruptedly and automaticallyrtd produce a homOgeneous weld. I The feeding mechanism'for -feeding the metallicswelding strip-14-to*the work 15 consistsof two :feed rollers 19 and '20, pref erably provided with serrated perimeters 10- cated to receive between them the welding Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. i]

strip 14, which is in the form of a wire. The feed rolls 19 and 20 are rotatably mounted in a welding head 21, which is indicated in dotted lines, and provided with suitable guides for the welding strip 14. The work 15 in the present case consists of two cylindrical members which are to be joined by an annular weld, and in order to do this the work is rotated while the welding strip 14 eisbeing fed to the are at a and while the 'molten metal formed is being deposited in the groove 17. The cylindrical members constituting the work 15 are rotatably supported in any suitable manner, as by the center 26 and a mandrel 27. The mandrel 27 is connected by the gear 81 to a gear 80 keyed to the motor shaft m. It will be seen that by this arrangement the motor shaft m 1 drives the feed rolls 19 and 20 and alsoproduces a relative movement between the work and the welding head "while'the strip 14 is being fed to the work and the molten metal fixed relation is preserved between't he feed is being deposited on the work. It will also be noted that the feed rolls are driven at a of the welding strip 14 and the rate ofmo vea mentor? the work 15, but the' feed ofthe welding strip 14' is varied because the weld-' ing strip cannot be made uniform throughout its entire length. 'Difl'erent ortions of the welding strip may vary in usibility or. be

of slightly differing diameters and the strip will, therefore, fuse at different rates. When the welding strip 14 fuses very rapidly there is a danger that the are at a may suddenly become so long as to rupture and then in order to start the are it is necessary to bring the end of the strip 14 again into contact with the work. Conversely, if the feed of the strip 14 to the area is more rapid than the fusion of the welding strip, the welding strip'may be fed against the work and cause a short circuit which is injurious to the work and also requiresseparating the electrodes to a aln forman are.

the welding strip is continuously 'fed' at I have mind that" under normal conditions an equilibrium is 'maintained'by the arc itselfQwhich has, within c'ertain limits, it

suitable-5' constant rate, a compensatory ac tion, as -'folloWs":When the arc shortens the resistance decreases, the amperage rises, and

- creased. This reduction in'the rate of feed this rise inamperage results in the welding strip fusing more rapidly, thereby causing the arc to lengthen. Conversely, if the arc lengthens the resistance is increased, the amperage decreases proportionately, the welding strip is fused more slowly, and the continuously moving welding strip restores the arc to its normal length. However, in order to take care of the extreme differences of fusibility of the welding strip 14 and thereby maintain the arc, I have devised an automatic control mechanism which'is responsive to the changes in the energy at the arc a and which will alter the rate of feed of the welding strip 14 to correct the variations of the arc and thus compensate for the differences in fusibility of the feeding strip. As appears from the description of my device, its effect is to accentuate the self-compensatory action of the are. In the device here shown, the motor M, which is supplied with current from a source independent of the weldin circuit, drives through the shaft m the welding strip feed roll 20 and through gears 80, 81, the mandrel 27 supporting the work 15. In series with the armature of this motor M is the-rheostat R. The arm 86 of this rheostat is connected to the armatures of the coils 84, 85. These coils 84, 85 receive their current from an independent source, such as the battery B. In this local circuit are the two switches a, 0. These switches are operated by the movable switch member 32 attached to the armature 30 of the control solenoid 12 in series with the arc. The operation of the device is as follows: The arc is struck by first moving the welding strip 14 into contact with the work 15 and then separating the same therefrom manually, or in any other well'known manner. Thereafter the welding strip is continuously fed toward the work during the welding process. In the event of the are becoming too short, the solenoid 12 becomes more strongly energized and its armature-30 overcomes the tension of the opposing spring 31, causing the movable switch member 32 to engage with the stationary contact member 0, thereby establishing a local circuit from the battery B through the solenoid '85 and moving the rheostat arm 86 in a direction to cut in additional resistance in the resistance member The amount of current in the armature of the motor M is thereby reduced and the speed of the motor correspondingly dein the welding strip 14 results in the weldlng strip being fused more rapidly than it fed and the arc is quickly restored to its normal length. Conversely, if, during the weldin process, the arc becomes unduly long, t e pull of solenoid 12 is correspondingly decreased and the tension of the opposmg spring 31 overcomes the solenoid pull, causing the movable switch member 32 to g available at the-arc.

, switch 0' closed. The motor will t engage the stationary contact a and thereby close the local circuit from the battery B through the solenoid 84, and move the rheostat arm 86 in a direction to out out some of the resistance in the rheostat-R. The amount of current in the armature of the motor M is thereby increased, the speed of the motor is correspondingly accelerated, thus causing the welding strip 14.- to be fed more rapidly than it is fused, and restoring the arcto its normal length.

Whatever arc-maintaining mechanism may be employed, the adjustment must be accurately made. For example, I have found that where a ballistic resistance is used which has a relatively high temperature co-eflicient of resistance, the fusing energy available at the arc varies materially with the temperature of this ballistic resistance R. When R is cold and its resistance is low, a relatively hi h fusing energy is onversely, as R becomes heated and its resistance increases materially, a corresponding reduction occurs in thefusing energy available at the are.

.Assume that spring 31 is so adjusted that when the resistance R is at a temperature of 300 F., there is available at the are such an amount of fusing energy as to result in a substantially normal equilibrium between the feeding rate of the welding strip 14 and the fusing rate of said welding strip. Under these conditions, if the arc shortens unduly, the low-speed switch a will become operative and the arc length'will be restored to normal in the manner hereinbefore described. Should the arc lengthen unduly, the high-speed switch 0 will become operative, with a similar result. The corrective means will remain operative to maintain the arc so long as the supply of fusing ener available at the arc is not interfered wit When, however, the temperature of the resistance R reaches, say, 600 F., the suppl of fusing energy available at the arc wil have been materially reduced, with a corresponding reduction in the normal pull of solenoid 12, and a consequent'tendency on the part of spring 31 to keep the high speed us tend to. run at a high rate of speed and, therefore, tend to bring the welding strip in contact with the work, and thus produce a condition the opposite of that which is desired. Conversely, as'the resistance R coolsas, for example, when the machine is shut downthe amount of fusing energy available at the are is materially increased, with a corresponding increase in the normal pull of solenoid 12, and a consequent tendency on the part of this solenoid to overcome the tension of spring 31' and keep the low speed switch closed. The motor will thus tend to to rupture, thus bringing about a condition the opposite 'of that which is desired. In order to overcome the difiiculties referred to, I have provided an adjusting means, here shown as a screw 33, by which the tension of the spring 31 may be varied.

I have found that it is inconvenient to obtain a stability of adjustment by the means shown in Fig. 1, as it is often necessary to change the adjustment from time to time during the day, and from day to day.

I have discovered that one cause of this difliculty is variation invthe resistance of the welding circuit. I have found that. if the stabilizing means, such as resistance R and reactance C, is one whose effect is considerably different when hot from that exerted when cold, a single adjustment of screw- 33 will not suflice' It is, therefore, highly desirable that the resistance B should be one having a low temperature resistance co-efiicient. I have found the lowtemperature co-eflicient alloys now on the market satisfactory.' Any'means, however, for rendering the resistance substantially constant in its efl'ect may be employed to stantially' constant adjustment.

In referring to a stabilizing means constant in effect I intend to'imply such sub stantial or approximate constancy-of resistance as will permit. of constancy of adjust ment. Itmight in some cases, for. example, be possible to do this without employing a so-called zero co-efiicient material, by using ordinary resistance grids having a normal carrying capacity so much greater than the welding current that the temperature would not vary greatly, -or artificial cooling might be resortedto, to attain the same end by maintaining a constant temperature.

In many instances approximat'ecompensation for temperature changes may be secured by the use ofa resistance having a positive temperature co-efiicient in series with an electrolyte Or other form of resistance having a negative temperature co-efiici'ent. An automatic means of varying the amount of resistance in circuit so as to maintain in effeet a constant potential across the welding machine and work is also within the'meaning and intent of my description- In Fig. 2 I have'shown such. an arrangement. In this figure, w and 1 are the two terminals of the source, 15-is thework, 14 thewelding' strip, 9 a variable resistance, shown as a carbon pile, R a resistance and C a reac'tance. J The welding strip 1a is shown diagrammatically as fed'forward by wheels'19'and 20, one of which-is rotatedfby anelectric motor M whose armatureiis in shunt to the arc and whosefield winding 35 is in series therewith. The variable resistance 9 is sufiic'i'e'nt in mag nitude sogthat,under tbs-control of magnet 36 shunted across the circuit inside of the resistance and reactance stabilizing means, it

permit a subis able to maintain a substantially constant employed. In t is figure 7- R and 1', are

resistances having approximately zero temperature 'co-eflicients, and B which con stitutes the major part of the stabilizing resistance, may be any convenient resistance, such as a cast iron grid,'iron wire or water rheostat. A small variable resistance, indicated as a carbon pile rheostat 9, is part of the branch containing R Resistances "r,

This resistance is and 4", may be of very small current carrying capacity, and hence inexpensive. The resistances are so proportioned that at normal temperature there is no difierence, of potential between the points a and b when current is flowing. The points a and b are which by worm and sector S actuate lever 37 of carbon pile rheostat" 9. The field connected to the armature A of a small motor,

magnet F of this motor is connected in shunt to the circuit as shown.

Its connection is immaterial, as it is only necessary that there is immaterial. 1

should be a field, and its particular strength Y Should a change occur the resistance,

R, a difference, of potential will occur between points a and b, and a current will flow through the armatureA whose direction will depend upon whether an increase or a decrease in resistance R, has occurred.

The armature will thereupon rotate to vary resistance 9 to restore the totalresistance in circuit to normal' Any other suitable variable resistance means may be .em,-'

ployed. All of the foregoing means, and

lOl

others which will suggest themselves, I intend to include as stabilizing means constant in efiect.

Another source of vary n for purposes of illustration, is carried by a, suitable guide 34. and feeding rolls l9 and.

circuit re- 'sistance seems to be the .varymg reslstance It will be observed that the,

20. The current is carried to the electrode chiefly by the lower guide or holder 34.21v .120

have found that it is very desirable. for the maintenance of a stable arc, and in jcommercial'use' practically indispensable for the I the electrode holder is a considerable distance from the arc, the arc becomes unbest results, that the electro de ,holder of an] arc welding machine having automatic elec 1 trode feedingand arc maintaining. means, should beas close as possibleftoTthe; are. The reason for this i's not entirely lear, but I have found from much efiperien'co that'if" stable and difficult to control. For example in a particular automatic machine, developed and built by me, I have found that with a current of 140 amperes an electrode of iron or steel wire 3' 2" inch in diameter, fed at a speed'of about 16 inches a minute through a holder, such as 3, reaching to within 1} to inch of the arc, the operation is stable as long as the machine is kept in operation. If, however, this distance is materially increased in said machine, the length of time that the arc continues stable decreases, and if the distance is as great as 2 0r 2% inches the arc is stable only for a few seconds after the machine is started.

It may be that this effect is purely mechanical and the result of Vibration resulting from the feeding forward of the electrode strip. I have observed that this condition of instability accompanies the extension backward from the arc of the incandescence of the electrode and that the correct distance is to be determined in view of the diameter of the wire, the current carried, and the speed at which the wire is fed. This leads me to believe that the sudden increase of resistance of the wire as it reaches the temperature of recalescence, and the extension backward of such a temperature to too great a distance, is the cause of this instability. However this may be, the factis unquestionably established by my experience, and I have discovered that the difficulty can be overcome by supporting and conveying the current to the electrode at a point close to the arc, and that unless this lower electrode holder is brought down rather near the arc, continuous stable operation is very difficult to secure.

It is advantageous to have this electrode guide of sufficient current carrying capacity to avoid its being greatly heated by the current which it carries, and of good heat conducting material. A wire or rod of an inch in diameter would be melted in a short time by a current of about 90 amperes, and one of diameter by a current of about 140 amperes, and, ingeneral, the current employed in welding is large enough to soon melt or raise to high incandescence the electrode used if the latter were stationary. In asmuch as the 'wire is fed continuously forward, it does not melt except at the arc, even with continuous welding, and by taking the current to the electrode near to the arc the heating to incandescence, with its attendant extreme changes in resistance, is confined to a short length of the electrode. The changes of resistance are, therefore, a small percentage of the total resistance and do not result in instability. It will be seen, therefore, that the continuous feed and the point of support at which the current is taken'to the electrode are features intimately related to the stability of the arc.

The lower electrode holder made adjustable to and from any Well known or convenient manner, in order that the most advantageous distance from the arc may be attained for any particular circumstances of use.

While I have shown means for steadily feeding the electrode toward the work, and prefer such means, I: do not limit myself thereto, as the intermittent feeding of the electrode by short increments at frequent intervals may be substituted for the steady feed and by the expression continuously feeding, as used in my claims, I intend to include either a steady feed or an intermittent feed sufficiently rapid to be equivalent thereto.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a welding apparatus, a welding tool, a welding circuit, and a stabilizin means constant 1n its effect included in'said welding circuit.

2. In a welding apparatus, a welding tool, a welding circuit, and a stabilizing resistance whose resistance is independent of its temperature included in said welding circuit.

3. In a welding apparatus, a welding tool, a welding circuit, and a stabilizing means comprising a reactance and a resistance, said resistance being constant in its effect included in said welding circuit.

4. In a metallic electrode arc welding apparatus, a welding tool having means for feeding the electrode toward the work, a welding circuit, and a stabilizing means constant in its effect included in said welding circuit.

' 5. In a welding apparatus, means for feeding a welding strip toward the work, means for supplying electrical energy to the are, and means responsive to variations in the re sistance of the welding circuit external to the are for correctively varying the rate of feed of said strip.

6. In a metallic electrode arc welding apparatus, means for feeding a welding strip toward the work, means for supplying electrical energy to the arc, stabilizing means in the welding circuit, and means associated with the stabilizing means for accentuating the self-compensatory action of the are.

7. In an arc welding apparatus, means for continuously feeding a metallic welding strip toward the work at a normal rate roportioned to the resistance of the we] ing circuit external to the are, means for maintaining said proportion between the resistance of the circuit and the rate of feed, and meansfor controlling the relation between the fusing rate and the feeding rate of is preferably the welding strip to compensate for varia-.

the work in paratus, a welding tool, a stabilizing resistance constant in its effect, and means for conveying current to the electrode at a point near the are.

9. In a welding apparatus, a welding machine having automatic means for continuously feeding the electrode toward the work, and a stabilizing means whose effect is constant. I p

10. In a Welding apparatus, a welding tool having automatic means for continuously feeding the electrode toward the work and for maintaining the arc, and a stabilizing resistance whose effect is independent of its temperature.

11. In a'metallic electrode arc welding apparatus, a welding tool having automatic are, a stabilizin till means for continuously feeding'the electrode toward the work, a stabilizin resistance whose effect is independent of 1ts temperature, and means for conveying current to' the electrode at a point near the arc,

12. In a. metallic electrode arc welding apparatus, a welding tool having automatic means for continuousl feeding the electrode toward the work an for". maintainingthe resistance whose effect is independent of its temperature, and means for conveying current to the electrode at a point near the arc.

13. The improvement in that process of electric arc welding wherein the arc is formed between the work and a metallic welding strip continuously fed toward thework, which consists in supplying the current to the welding strip always at a point near the are through a stabilizing means constant in its edect.

14:. The process of electric arc welding which consists in striking an are between the work and a strip of metal constituting one electrode, stabilizing said are by supplying current to a point on the strip near the are through a stabilizing means constant in its effect, and maintaining said are by feeding said electrode continuously and automatically toward the work.

15. In an ele'ctriuarc welding apparatus, a welding tool having automatic means for continuously feeding the electrode toward the work and for maintaining the arc, and

' a constant a stabilizing means constant in its effect.

16. in an electric arc welding apparatus, otential source of current, a welding tool having automatic means for continuously feeding the electrode toward the work, means controlled by a variable characteristic of the are for controlling the arc, and a stabilizing means constant in its effect.

17. In an electric arc weldin apparatus, a constant. potential source 0 current, a welding tool having automatic means for continuously feeding the electrode toward the work, means controlled by a variable characteristic of the are for controlling the arc, a stabillzing means constant in its effect,

and means for conveying current to the elecing means constant in itseffect, andmeans for conveying current to the electrode at a point near the arc.

19. In a metallic electrode arc welding apparatus, the combination with a welding tool, having means for continuously feeding a welding strip toward the work, and means for supporting said strip at a point close to the arc, of an arc stabilizing means constant in its effect.

20. In a welding apparatus, a welding machine having automatic means for feeding the electrode toward the work, and a stabilizing means whose effect is constant.

21. In a metallic electrode arc welding apparatus, a welding tool having automatic means for feeding the electrode toward the 22. In an electric arc welding apparatus,

a circuit having a constant resistance for' supplying current to the arc, means for automatically feeding a welding strip toward the work, and means for automatically controlling the relation between the feeding rate of the welding strip and the fusing energy of the arc; v

'23.. The process of electric arc welding which consists in supplying current to the are through a-circuit havin a constant resistance, automatically fee ing a welding strip toward the work, and automatically controlling the relation between the feeding rate of the welding strip and the fusing en ergy of the arc.

2a. In an electric, arc welding apparatus, a circuit having a constant resistance for supplying current to the arc, and means for automatically feeding a welding strip to-= ward the work.

25.- in an electric arc welding apparatus, a circuit whose resistance external to the arc is constant for supplying current to the arc, and'means for automatically feeding a weld ing strip toward the work. Y

26. The process of electric arcwelding which consists in maintaining the resistance. of the circuit external to the .arc constant, and automatically feeding a welding strip toward thework.

27. The improvement in that method of arc welding wherein a metallic welding strip Corrections in Letters Patent'No. 1,392,437.

is automatically fed toward the work, which and in utilizing changes in a characteristic 10 consists 1n maintaining the resistance of the of the are to maintain the are.

circuit external to the are constant through In testimony whereof I have hereunto out the welding operation. signed my name in the presence of two sub- 28. The improvement in that method of scribing witnesses.

arc welding wherein a metallic welding strip HARRY D. MORTON is automatically fed toward the Work, which /Vitnesses:

consists in maintaining stable the resistance ADELE S. EBERI-IARDT,

of the welding circuit external to the arc DANN L. W001). A

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,392,437, granted October 4, 1921, upon the application of Harry D. Morton, 'of Detroit, Michigan, for an improvementin Arc-Welding Systems and Methods of Operating the Same, e'rrorsappear in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 5, strike out lines 129-130, and page 6, lines 1 to 4, comprising claim 27; page 6, line 5, for the claim ordinal 28 read27; and that the said Letters Patent should be read With these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 15th day of November, A. D., 1921.

[SEAL] KARL FENNING,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

